Samsung launches extremely light 13- and 15-inch laptops

If you're in the market for a new laptop and weight is a significant concern for you, Samsung's Notebook 9 series might just be what you're looking for. The company has released two new laptops in 13- and 15-inch sizes, which weigh an impressive 839 grams (1.85 pounds) and 1.29 kg (2.84 pounds) respectively.

A 15-inch laptop that weighs less than 1.5 kg is a pretty mouthwatering proposal, considering the equivalent MacBook Pro weighs over 2 kg. Samsung hasn't skimped on performance either, with both sizes of the Notebook 9 supporting Intel 'Skylake' Core i5 and i7 CPUs, up to 8 GB of RAM, and up to 256 GB of storage.

The biggest concern for these laptops is battery life. The 13-inch model is 13.4mm thin and includes just a 30 Wh battery, while the 15-inch gets a 39 Wh unit in its 14.5mm thin body. This is significantly smaller than most laptops of equivalent size on the market, and The Verge claims the 15-inch model reported just 3.5 hours of remaining life from an 83% charge.

Both units support fast charging via USB C, and both also come with full-sized USB ports for attaching most of today's peripherals. Neither device has a touchscreen, which isn't a big deal on a laptop, and each screen is a fairly standard 1080p resolution attached to a 180-degree hinge.

Unfortunately Samsung has declined to provide any release date or pricing information for the Notebook 9 series as they continue to finalize the laptops' specifications. Hopefully we'll see them hit the market before too long.